China unveiled a cautious growth target for 2023 but a boost in defense spending on Sunday (March 5) during its annual nine-day parliamentary session that will allow Xi Jinping to remain president for five years. moreover.
The defense budget - the second largest in the world after that of the United States - will increase by 7.2% this year, to 1,553.7 billion yuan (221 billion euros), its largest increase since 2019 .
Faced with nearly 3,000 deputies from the National People's Congress (NPC) gathered at the People's Palace in Beijing for the second day, outgoing Prime Minister Li Keqiang assured that "the attempts at containment from outside keep intensifying." He called for "scaling up" military training and "combat readiness" as Sino-US tensions, including over the Taiwan issue, escalate.
After three years of slowdown due to anti-Covid restrictions, "China's economy is enjoying a solid recovery," Li said. lower for decades. By 2022, China's gross domestic product had grown by just 3%, amid a global economic slowdown, the Covid-19 outbreak, lockdowns and a real estate crisis.
"China's economic development has come up against multiple unexpected factors both at home and abroad, such as the epidemic," Li Keqiang said on Sunday. However, "under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, we have effectively coordinated epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development," he added.
The parliamentary session will decide on the renewal, for five years, of Xi Jinping as head of state as president. The 69-year-old leader had already been confirmed as Party leader in October. As every year, few surprises are expected from this carefully orchestrated event, during which thousands of politicians from different provinces travel to Beijing to vote almost unopposed for texts already pre-approved by the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP) in power. MEPs will discuss several economic and social issues, ranging from strengthening sex education in schools to boosting the birth rate, through online harassment.
Xi Jinping has encountered some pitfalls in recent months, with demonstrations at the end of November against his zero Covid policy and then a wave of deaths following the abandonment of this decried health strategy. These sensitive topics will probably not be discussed during this parliamentary session where Li Qiang, a close friend of Xi Jinping and ex-head of the CCP in Shanghai, should be appointed as the new prime minister.
